The Surface of the Sun

That's how I heard the weather this week described today on the radio.

It's gonna be hot.

About 102 degrees where I'll be spending my days (in Pasadena - which is in one of the valleys).

I'm not complaining though. Much better than the same temperature and about 3 times the humidity, which is what we got during these months in Florida. I'll take dry heat any day!

Speaking of atmospheric warmness, T and I took advantage of that this weekend, and I fulfilled week 2 of my goal.We were only at the beach for an hour or so, but that's the perfect amount of time for me - long enough to enjoy it, but not so long that you get bored, dehydrated, or annoyed by people kicking sand on you....

Then, B whipped up a fantastic vegan bbq, which I'll post about tomorrow.

Sunday we spent lazing around, and pretty much not doing anything.

Good for the moment, bad for productivity!

Especially because this one's a 3 day week for me. Wednesday night we're flying to Pennsylvania for a buddy of T's wedding.

(note: the posting frequency may suffer....)

But back on topic, that means that these next few days are going to be a flurry of activity! Then, rest and relaxation. Not to mention, food food food! We eat literally all day there.

(love it)

Happy Monday!

Today's whiteboard quote:
"To me success means effectiveness in the world, that I am able to carry my ideas and values into the world - that I am able to change it in positive ways."
~Maxine Hong Kingston

And All Good Things Will Be Yours

So last night, after a half hour drive and 20 minute walk, T and I discovered that all of our traveling was for naught...because the pier concert was canceled.

Oh well! Got a little exercise and car dancing out of the deal. I won't complain.

Besides, today's Friday. How can it not be that all is right in the world (or at least, in the world of week days?)

And to finish up my recap of last weekend, here are some pics of our afternoon in Manhattan Beach...

Manhattan Beach Creamery = Love.

Enjoying a heritage cookie. hehe (get it?).

Awesome almost-sunset views and beautiful houses to ogle...

All in all, a success!

Happy Friday! Here's today's whiteboard quote:
"LIVING
Fear less, hope more,
eat less, chew more,
whine less, breathe more,
talk less, say more,
love more,
and all good things
will be yours."
~Swedish Proverb

One more thing: did you know that all week I've been posting from beyond the grave? Go see, and make sure you watch til the very end (after the credits).

Just Beachy M'Dear

Saturday morning, before getting old-timey gussied up, T and I hit the beach, as part of my ongoing mission
(to figure out all of my camera's capabilities. It's like a living thing, I tell you...)
I love being at the beach. What other culturally embraced routine involves preparing, dressing, driving, parking, walking, and setting up in order to lie down and relax?
Not many, I say.
There should be more, I say.
In fact, I will single-handedly bring up the national average of minutes Zenning out to the sounds of the surf. (Yes, I know this isn't a new thing but now my lazing at the beach has a purpose! Yes! Just the excuse I was looking for! Genius.)

I'm a firm believer that if it became a normal thing for everyone in our overweight and unhappy country to quiet down, close their eyes and spend chunks of time just enjoying being, not text messaging, not checking email (not blogging, although we all know that there is certainly a time for that), not driving, planning, eating donuts on the go, grabbing a shake instead of a meal, etc., then we'd all be happier campers.
So, in the interest of practicing what I preach, I'll be rocking the SPF 70 (no, I'm not kidding) on a weekly basis from here on out.
A noble goal, I say.

Today's whiteboard quote:
"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least." ~Johan Wolfgang von Goethe

Webster's Says...

Lately I have been obsessed with this blog. Why? Oh, I don't know. I think my biological clock is thinking about thinking about ticking. One second I'll be fantasizing about crocheting baby blankets, nibbling on tiny toes and the sacredness of feeling a new life growing within me, then about brown eyes like T's, green eyes like mine, hoping that (s)he'll have his sweetness and my spirituality....
Then I notice that I've been brushing my teeth for 8 minutes as my eyes widen in shock and I recoil from the mirror.

What?

Heck no!

My mind is bombarded with the concept that, one day, late night red wine and dark chocolate will be things of the past, not to mention early Saturday morning living room workouts interrupted by a sleepy T coming downstairs and wanting to cuddle with me. Oh no. Nibbling on tiny toes means that those early mornings will be devoted to a beautiful albeit selfish, selfish selfish creature. That I'll be biologically coerced into loving. No more only-Charisness. No more quiet car rides, listening to my audiobooks without a care in the world (besides having the heck scared outta me by Stephen King, like I am right now. I mean seriously. Killer cell phones? Can you get any scarier? Makes me look at my little gray motorola in a whole new light)

See what I mean about thinking about thinking about ticking?

The jury's still out.

Babies?

Yes.

Now?

No.

So I take out the crochet hook and start on a blanket for one of the 149,783,064 friends that I have who are currently about to have/just did have babies.

And I read blogs like the Girl's Gone Child one mentioned above, and vicariously let my bio clock tick away.

On it, the author talks about how, although she doesn't define herself by her motherhood, her sense of self has certainly been affected and improved by it.

She now has a different lens to see the beauty of the world though.

And I think about how, having someone close, someone you love, something you love, and on and on, gives you that lens.

That's why I write about T so much. He changes my stuck-in-traffic drives. They fly by, as they did on Monday when I had his company because of a studying day he took in Pasadena. I didn't note the graffiti on the giant highway concrete pillars, nor whether I was at the first or second hump on the 110 South (to peg where I am on my homeward journey). I was more concerned with talking to him. The lens was different.

And if not him, it's something else. I see and ponder the world through the lens of nature and the hummingbirds that have been stalking me all summer, or through travels and how my life is so different now than it was five years ago in Florida or nine years ago in Virginia, or through the lens of Spirit, wondering how best to serve whatever one defines as God, whether it's personal purpose, Love, Communion in life, or any of the many varied religious definitions....

And I wonder, is there any observation to be made if you don't do it through the study of something outside yourself?

No, I don't think that there is.

As Madeleine L'Engle said in one of her amazing and simple works that I'm working on now (such frivolous fiction is relegated to only having read-time when I'm blowdrying my hair. Yes ma'am, head thrown forward, with the book held open by a lotion bottle on the bathroom counter...), we're in a universe.

Uni: one, together, joined.

Webster's says it, more or less.


Today's whiteboard quote:
"People have talents that are different. Where does the creative flow some from, inside us, or from a higher power? I don't ask questions. I just write it down."
~Phyllis Whitney

Roaring 20's

This past Saturday night, we were invited to a friend's themed birthday party. Since she was saying goodbye to her 20's, she decided to roar them out (get it? Roaring 20's? Yes, I know I make horrifical jokes).
The roomies, minus my sister (who was gone on a wine-tasting adventure that afternoon) got into the spirit with our costumes.The boys were more authentic than I, wearing actual bygone fashions. T had a pinstriped 3-piecer from who knows when, worn by family patriarchs that came before (seen in this post minus the jacket, this is SoCal after all, he would've not-so spontaneously combusted if he'd worn all three pieces). He lent B, whose wardrobe is refreshingly simple (but does not period-costumes make) some other old-fashioned digs left over from family too (vest, suspenders, etc).

As for me, here's my costume breakdown:- strapless black beaded thriftstore dress (under $5. Oh yes, it was. I also scored an Express white lacy a-line knee-length strapless weekend dress for $6 on that trip. Love it)
- jewelry (pearls, diamonds, chains, etc) from my jewelry box, sis's jewelry box, and Target (maybe a Walgreens sparkly hair clip or two)
- shoes, my closet. The dress was floor-length, who cared. But, if you're curious, they were black open-toed pumps with an ankle strap
- feather boa, Michael's craft store
- one gazillion hair pins to sport the faux-short pin-curl 'do, TargetI think that's it! I watched some YouTube tutorials and educated myself on how to rock it flapper style, and in the end, the whole thing came together nicely, if I do say so myself.

...And so we were off.

The 3 of us drove over to Venice Beach, where the b-day shindig was held at The Garter. I'd never been there before, and I must say, it was adorable. Perfect for the party's theme. There was also a we're-so-cool door line outside when we left, so I guess other folks agree with me.

T and I got our drinks, said hello to the folks we knew, and snuck over to a corner where we flirted with each other and people watched and got approached by one or two folks who told us how awesome we looked (total ego-booster, that). In line for the bathroom, I talked for a few to a girl who was attending a 80's party on the same night. She said our theme was cooler, and to be honest. I agreed.

Was that wrong?

But to be fair, theirs was probably easier to dress in accordance to. So perhaps it evens out, all things considered.

Anyway, then I went back to another corner with T (this time by a fake fireplace), and we continued to be anti-social. This was broken by merging with the writhing throng (okay, that throng part was only after 11:30pm) in dance-floor stints to the occasional college-throwback rap song, and plenty of MJ.

With the birthday girl:
With two wax statues that I could've sworn were originally my escorts to and from the event:
We left at about 12:30. Early, yes. And yes, we're old at heart I suppose and the next thing will be the cane to walk with down the broken sidewalks of Lincoln, but judging how T and I mostly just wanted to talk to each other, I have to wonder, what's the point of going out at all?

#1) You know who you're going home with at the end of the night.
#2) You don't need to get wizasted to have a good time, and you don't particularly enjoy the icy drinks being spilled down your bare shoulders by those who do need to.

#3) Correct me if I'm wrong, but these days I value my weekends and miss them when I'm out of commision until 3pm like I was the next day...

However, doing it once in a while rocks, and also reminds you why nights at home with some Well Red and dark chocolate, followed by sweetly energetic and productive (not to mention better-feeling than the undead way you would have if you'd gone out the night before) mornings can't be beat.

Anyway, so we loaded up and drove back to RB, changed into pj's,
And B made us vegan nachos.
Which were delicious.

The End.

Today's whiteboard quote:
"When we tell stories, or when we try to verbalize our experiences, we take our paths towards understanding."
~Edwidge Danticat

Quickie

It's a busy Monday, after a busy weekend!

Because of this, I'll give you a peek into this weekend, and essentially what I'll be posting about all week, in no special order :)
(included: 20's birthday party, time in Manhattan beach, etc...)


Today's whiteboard quote:
"All problems become smaller if you don't dodge them, but confront them. Touch a thistle timidly, and it pricks you; grasp it boldly, and its spines crumble."
~William S. Halsey

Peeping Tom

It's Lady Godiva day!On this day in the year 1057, Lady Godiva rode through the streets of Coventry, naked as a jaybird.

Why did she do it?

For the people!

Apparently her husband (the earl) was oppressively taxing them. She'd appealed to him over and over to let up on it, but he always denied her. Eventually, he called her bluff, saying that he'd relax his crazy taxes if she'd ride through the streets naked.

Guess she told him!

The best part is that they were both religious. Great church benefactors, in fact. So she wasn't some harlot just showing her immoral self (for the times - with all that hair she wore more than most of us do to the beach, I must say). Gotta love a woman who balance both spirituality and independent thought! My kinda girl!

Lady Godiva was a notable horsewoman too, and she may have been a widow when she wed the earl. Quite an independent woman for her times, I say.

Nice forerunner for the rest of us!

So sure enough, she did it. Of course, being a lady, she first sent out a proclamation that everyone had to be inside with the windows shuttered. After the streets were empty (or so she thought) she made her ride, and got her way - the people of Coventry got the benefits of her wager with her husband (less taxes). Good for the earl for not chickening out.

Now, this being at the time that it was, with modesty and 7,000 layers of clothing and the sight of an ankle driving men to madness with the lust of it all, etc., do any of us honestly think that no one was watching her, taking an eyeful while putting a finger between the shutter and the edge of the window?

Heck, I'm sure everyone saw it.

But, according to legend, one man, a tailor actually, watched her and went blind. Dang.

Who was it?

Well, that's where the name Peeping Tom comes from.
(...and that's your nugget of useless knowledge for the day. You're welcome.)

Of course, some say that she was clad in a shift (an undergarment, kinda like a slip), so not actually naked, and some even say that her "nudity" was just bling-wise: she may have just ridden stripped of all her jewelry.

But I think that the better story is the jaybird one, no?
So that's what I'm going with.

In other news, I feel bad today about still not having done a vlog (I'm thinking I'll comandeer T's macbook this weekend, which does have a working mic, and make one) so here's a still:
(the smugness evidenced above is because it's Friday, duh.)

Today's whiteboard quote:
"Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values.
~Ayn Rand